Published 5:30 am, Tuesday, July 5, 2011

John Torchetti served a stint as a coach in the NHL when he led the Florida Panthers.

John Torchetti served a stint as a coach in the NHL when he led the Florida Panthers.

Photo: J. PAT CARTER, AP

Aeros tab John Torchetti as next head coach

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

Early last week, rumors began to surface about who would replace Mike Yeo as head coach of the Aeros.

John Torchetti wasn’t in the mix at the time, but Tuesday, the Minnesota Wild tabbed him as the Aeros’ ninth head coach. Torchetti, who last season was an assistant with the Atlanta Thrashers, beat out several candidates for the head coaching job with the Wild’s AHL affiliate.

Torchetti’s first head coaching job was in San Antonio with the Central Hockey League’s Iguanas. He later served as an assistant with the San Antonio Dragons and was the San Antonio Rampage’s first head coach in 2002-03.

That was Torchetti’s last stint in the AHL.

“I love that I am coming back to Texas,” said Torchetti, who was an assistant on the Chicago Blackhawks team that won the Stanley Cup in 2010. “I have had nothing but success in Texas. I was very fortunate to get my start there. It’s a great state.”

Torchetti said he made a phone call to Aeros general manager Jim Mill after the NHL entry draft (June 24-25) to express his interest in the head coaching vacancy, created when Yeo was promoted to the NHL after just one — albeit successful — season with the Aeros.

Torchetti had just missed out on a job as the head coach of the Florida Panthers, but he called the Wild to let them know that he was itching to be a head coach again.

“Once I put my name in for that head job in Florida, I got the bug,” Torchetti said. “I really missed being the guy. I missed working with the younger players and developing them both mentally and physically.”

Torchetti coached the Panthers on an interim bases in 2004 and held the same position with the Los Angeles Kings in 2006.

Kevin Dineen, who briefly played for the Aeros in 1994, got the job in Florida. But Torchetti said he knows the Wild’s management team well and is grateful for the chance to work with the team’s top prospects.

“I have already talked to Mike Yeo about some of the guys, and I have already gotten a call from (former Aeros assistant and current San Jose Sharks assistant) Matt Shaw about just how great of a leader (Jed) Ortmeyer is,” added Torchetti. “Those are great phone calls to get on your first day.”

“He brings a wealth of coaching experience, is a proven winner at every level, and will be a great asset to the Wild organization,” Mill said.

In an unrelated announcement, the AHL released its new alignment and playoff format for the 2011-12 season. Instead of four divisions, the AHL will divide into six, and the Aeros will remain in the West with the Texas Stars, San Antonio Rampage and Oklahoma City Barons.